Not so many years ago, racetracks were pretty much reserved for, well, racers. Not anymore.

This past week, following the season-ending AMA Pro Road Racing doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park, I took a refresher course at the Schwantz School. With just one exception—me—none of the 27 students at this particular school had ever taken the checkers on a racetrack, and more than half had never been on the business side of the crash fence. One newer rider signed up because the school is the only track-based program recognized by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

What may be the world's greatest auto racetrack engineering company began in 1986 with a tiny strip of concrete.

After finishing his degree at the University of Aachen in western Germany, Hermann Tilke — then a 30-year-old civil engineer — carried out one of his first contracts: Planning a 20-yard-long service road to the famous Nuerburgring , one of the nation's oldest racetracks in the Eifel mountain range in western Germany. His salary for the job: 600 deutsche marks, about $300 at that time.

Ride for Kids® events in three metropolitan areas — Seattle, Birmingham and Indianapolis — brought in over $215,000 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® (PBTF) on Sept. 12. The rides attracted hundreds of motorcyclists, fundraisers, volunteers and families of children with brain tumors.

This year's hour-long discussion was headlined by 1993 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz, who managed the Team American Honda Moriwaki Moto2 wild-card effort at Indianapolis. That made guest number two, Roger Lee Hayden, an even better choice than he might otherwise have been since the 2007 AMA Supersport champ and current Team Pedercini Kawasaki World Superbike rider was at the controls of the American Honda entry that weekend. Schwantz and Hayden were joined by Moto2 series regular Kenny Noyes, the Spain-based American transplant who races for the Jack & Jones by Antonio Banderas team. Cycle World Technical Editor Kevin Cameron rounded out the group, with Managing Editor Matthew Miles moderating the event. Listen to what these great guests had to say about the future of racing and many other topics.

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